The Wilmingtonian., 1887-05-28
The Dietary of Phthisis.
BY..J. MILFER TOTHERGILL, NJ D., EnIN-
BURGH.

mankind is liable-not even excepting gou
and diabetes-in which the dietary is NOR
truly important than phthsis. The tern
means wasting or Consumption, aud
though too much regarded, at the present
time as a disease of the lungs, pulmonary
complications are not essential to phtniSis.
1t matters not whether it is prevention Of
cure, the dietary in phthsis is quite as i'm.
portant as medicine themselves.
Ten years experience as physician to a
a Chest Hospital has taught me very wildly
what was SUSPECTED from previous experience
viz; that the most hopeless case Of phthisis
ls that where there is a steady emaciation
going on which nothing can arrest. At last
and only at last when the end is close at
hand, mischief declares itself in the lnpg-
apaces. Far less serious, though quite grave
enough, is the opposite case where a large
portion of the upper pat OF one lung is CON
solidated and threatening to break dowu;
but where the digestion and assimilation are
good and the nutrition of the ,dy is well
maintained, the latter case not uufrcquently
does well.
We know that muscular hbre is loose
combination of albumen and fa'; aud as fat
is component factor In muscular histo-
genesis, so fatty degeneration is histolytic
change which is normal in the uterus after
parturition, and the means by which involu-
tion is brought about, sas well as tho end of
an hypertrophied heart when the nutrient
arteries Of the heart are occluded. Fat is
necessary to the building up Of healthy it's
sue; and in phthisis, whether threatened, er-
istent in early stage, or slftening of the
morbid area is on foot, or even when cav
ity has formed the dietary should be as rich
in fat as the assimilative powers of tae pa
tent will permit, and TO the utmost limit of
tolerance on the part of the stomach. In the
nursery, children in whose veins lurk the
raint OF phth sis should be carefully brought
up on milk aud hominy or oatmeal porride.
Aud why we arc oat and maize chosen for
nu.sey? Because they make bone, (which
is the special property of Ca meal the old
Scotch folk thought. give now know only
these two members of the coreliA are select
| ed-albeiG ty blind in nStinct-becau, ,e they
are the richest in fat. Wheat aud barley.
rice and rye, are well enough; but the lack
fat. The milk contains, c. when it has not
been carefully skinned, a certain am ,uut of
fat; but then it is not uncommon practice for
the dishonest milk-vender to take certain
amount OF cream from his milk before re-
failing it; or even to add equal parts Of skim
med milk to fresh milk. The cLseine is there
the milk-sugar is there; the salts are there
but the fat is wanting to great desres,
Jam aud treacle, and honey and sugar are
all well enough in the nursery in addition to
plain bread aud butter, porridge, and pud-
dings made Of milk and some farinaceous
matter. But the fat must not be forgotten,
that is, not nne qVantne negligjable by any
manner of means.
What is now being said about the dietary
of the nursery applies to latter child life and
adolescence The bread and butter of the
nursery too frequently is cut in thick slices
and the butter spread over one aspect; more
or less literally. Why should this be s, /?
Why should Company bread and butter
alone be cut thin? Llziuess is at the bot
tom of it. Lazness that does not take the
trouble to realize that it is practically mur-
derous. That its victims will be slowly tor
tured to death by lingering disease; that
all the torture, the discomfort the disap-
pointed hopes, the regrets Of the survivors
may be averted by little consideration is a
dream undreamt. No. That laziness is too
ignorant, too contcntedly ignorant in its own
self-satisiaction to doubt the p!opriety OF
what is being done. The careless nursery
maid has ncyery read that pregnant sentence
of Nathaniel Hawlhorue: ''The little re.
garded truth that the act of the passing gen.
Grafton is the lerm which may and must pro
duce a good OF evil fruit in far distant
time" Or il she has, it has uot stl nck hel
that it applies in any way to her when cut
ting bread aud butt. .r Yet company breIC
and butter dO.bed is far better tolerated b,
the touchy little stomach than hunk o
bread which carries solid layer Of buttel
upon it. And very often the little mite ma,
be thankful that the butter is there at all.
good many poor little atomes of stramod
infants do not get the butter in liberal sup
plies. OF course the law draws distinction
betwixt willGul murder and death by misad
, venture. Before the day when advancing
t knowledge could tell us of the cardinal im
I portance of fat in tue building of tue tissu
: Of delicate childrel the blame which attach
ed to the lazuess was venial compard Wit
8 what attaching to it now is when knowledg
u is enlightening US.
a A wise aud proper dietary in the uursei
would have saved many cousumptivc no
e slowly peri,hipg, lighting losing fight,
4 ,b. NulI,wstnua rouinp tho biub { ris, ,,